those of us who live in the San Francisco Bay Area are truly lucky. i confess to taking this place a bit for granted as i had been living here since 1982, and only when i left a couple of years ago to divide my time equally between Hawaii and Cali, did i really begin to appreciate the extraordinary geographical, cultural and human gifts of this particular locus on our small, blue planet.

for sure, when i was still a permanent Berkeley resident, i often roamed the streets of my hometown, as well as Baghdad-by-the-Bay -- as the legendary chronicler Herb Caen used to call San Francisco. (even after the Gulf War, that locution still held its old charms.) but it was after i left for Maui that my memories of walking the streets of San Francisco, as well as my current wanderings thereon took on new life and meaning. that i prefer doing it these days with young students as companions is fitting, of course.

but if that was all there was in that particular corner of The City, it would be quite one-dimensional and antiseptic; and i'd still much rather walk around the Mission, or J-Town, or Haight-Ashbury, or any other SF neighborhood. but the Giants' new ballpark, Pacific Bell Park, is a gorgeous addition to China Basin. a real jewel of a ballpark -- and believe me, as i've been to the other cathedrals of baseball (Wrigley Field, Fenway Park, Yankee Stadium, Camden Yards, etc.), i know whereof i speak. it was an awesome feeling to walk along the Embarcadero and gradually see the ballpark emerge from the fog, see the incipient noon sunlight begin to glint from off the Bay, and be a part of the human throng on this particular pilgrimage. and when Tom and I went up and found our 'season-ticket' seats, it was clear to me that putting a park right here was a no-brainer, and should have been done by the city and the Giants a long time ago. but that didn't happen until only recently, because we all know what happens at the grimy confluence of politics, money and professional sports (which is another story entirely).

being in the ballpark was magical... the fog-shrouded skies opening up at gametime (1:05 pm) and pouring sunshine, and our seats at the topmost deck affording a spectacular panorama of the Bay... Oakland's skyline at the far shore, the almost casual intermingling of sailboats and cargo ships plying their trade, and of course the skiffs and occasional kayaker at McCovey Cove, waiting for a home-run ball to be hit out of the park. there was one, a foul ball Barry Bonds hit with his usual crackling authority, but which was retrieved with glee nevertheless, by a boatman on the Cove. the game itself was all Shawn Estes, the Giants' most reliable pitcher this season. the game started out, as ever, with hopes of a perfect game... proceeding rapidly downwards to 'just' a no-hitter (after a Pirate batsman got on base safely at the top of the first inning, thanks to an error by Giant shortshop Rich Aurilia)... hopes for a no-no fizzled shortly, though, with Estes experiencing early control problems in the 2nd. so, we just rooted for a 'mere' shutout, until the Picayune Pittsburghians finally erased the goose-egg on their half of the scoreboard with a run in the 6th which, by that time, was perfectly harmless.

but over the span of the game, Estes had good command of his stuff, and he ended up with a complete gamer. and it was quite quick, really, with the Giants smartly scattering 5 double-plays here and there, several of which were dandy inning-enders... the game was so quick i barely had time after the start of the 7th inning to go down to the field level concourse and make a partial circumnavigation of the premises. my clear impression: i was no longer in the dark, dank and claustrophobic confines of either Candlestick Park (the Giants' late, unlamented home, where every visit was like going to the frozen tundra or impersonating Nanook of the North), or of the Oakland Coliseum, where the A's languish like forlorn houseguests in a concrete fortress. i got back up to where Tom was sitting at our View deck seats, just in time for the very last out of the game, at the top of the ninth.

tomorrow:
walking from China Basin to Yerba Buena and SoMa, up the gut of the financial district to Chinatown, and then on through North Beach.

for pictures of the ballpark and assorted SF wanderings that Tom and I did last Sunday, go to the weblog entry for Sunday, August 6th.

{ net.casting }
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